Ceiling fuse-block



(No Model.) l 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

H. A. FITCH. CEILING FUSE BLoGK.

No. 434,925. Patented Aug. 26, 1890.

//J ATTORNEYS.-

(No Model.) 2 sheets-sheet 2.

A. FITCH. GEILING FUSE BLOCK.

No. 484,925. Patented Aug. 26, 1890.

0LN'QESSESH INVENT W1 /f/J ATTO R N EYJ /%QO% MW UNITED STATES PATENTOEEICE.

HORACE A. FITCH, OF NEW BEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS.

CEILING FUSE-BLOCK.

SPECIFICATION forming part f Letters Patent NO. 434,925,dated August 26,1890.

Application filed March l1, 1890. Serial No. 343,552. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HORACE A. FITCH, of New Bedford, county of Bristol,and State of Massachusetts, have invented a certain new and usefulImprovement in Electric-Lamp Fixtures, of which the following is aspecification.

The obj ect is to provideabracket, cut-out, and base-piece so`constructed that the base may be permanently secured to a wall orceiling with the main electric wires connected thereto, and whereby thecut-out and bracket may be removably secured to the base; and a furtherobject in making the bracket detachable from the base is to provide ameans whereby the connections may be easily reached, in order to makerepairs to any of its'parts or affixing new fusible connections.

I will describe a fixture embodying my improvement, and point out thenovel features in'the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical section of aiixture embodying my improvement. Fig. 2 is a section of the same 'takenat right angles to Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a plan View of the base-block. Fig.4 is a plan or interior view of the cut-out, and Fig. 5 is alongitudinal section through one of the ccntact-springs.

Similar letters of reference designate corresponding parts in all thefigures.

Referring by letter to the drawings, A designates a base-block ofinsulating materialsuch as wood, hard rubber, or analogoussubstance-designed to be permanently secured to a wall or ceiling bymeans of screws a or otherwise. The base-block is recessed, as at a', inits front face to accommodate bindingscrews and connecting-plates.

a2 designates the two connecting-plates secured to the base-block withinthe recess, and main wires a3, passing through holes a4 in thebase-block, are connected to the respective plates a2 by means ofbinding-screws a. The connecting-plates a2 also serve as a means forsecuring the cut-out to the base, as will hereinafter appear, and forthis purpose I have provided them on one side with a notch or yoke a6.Recesses c7 in the base-block ex- 5o tend beneath the plates. Theserecesses are elongated so as to extend beyond the plate, and are madewider than the notch in the plates.

B designates a block of insulating material for the cut-out, having lugso extended from it to engage with the plates a2 and secure the block Bto the base. I have here shown the lugs b in the form of screws having ahead b. lVhen it is desired to secure the block B to the base, the headsb of the lugs are placed in the recesses a7 above the plates, and thenthe block is pushed downward so that the Shanks of the lugs slide withinthe yokes and the heads underneath. The block B has a recess b2correspondingto the recess a in the base-block, and within the recessare contactplates b3, each provided with two bindingscrews h4.Lamp-wires h5 lead from a binding-screw of each plate b3 through acentral opening in the block B to a lamp. From the other binding-screwsb4 wires h6 lead to binding-screws 117, connecting with resilientcontact-pieces hs. The wires h6 are preferably of fusible metal, so thatan excessive current will fuse them vand not damage the other parts ofthe cut-out. The contacts 118 are secured at one end to the block B bymeans of the binding-screws bl, and when in position the other ends ofthe contacts bear upon the plates a2 of the base-block, thus completingan electric circuit.` I prefer these contacts bs to be of quite stiffspring metal, so that they will serve the purpose of contacts and alsoby their pressure maintain a rigid connection between the block B andthe baseblock.

C designates a portion of a bracket-arm to which an incandescent lampmay be attached. This arm has one end inserted in a socket in the blockl5, which may be a metal bushing c, screw-threaded to receive thethreaded end of the arm C. The opening through the arm C is in line withthe central opening of the block B, so that the lampwires willbeunobstructed.

The base and block B may be ornamented in any desired manner and theblock and bracket may be removed from one base-piece and placed uponanother, so that one bracket may be employed in any part of a room orIOO building, thus saving the cost of several brackets.- It is evident,also, that a curved bracket-arm and block may be reversed or placed onthe base, so that the lamp will be in a hanging or standing position.

By removing the block the fusible wires are easily accessible, so thatthey may be rencWed at any time.

Having described my invention, what I claim isl. The combination of abase adapted to be secured to a Wall or ceiling and having recesses,notched contact-plates secured to the base over the recesses andconnecting with main Wires, a block having a central opening, resilientcontacts on said block, lugs extending from the block engaging with thecontact-plates on the base, the heads of4 said lugs passing into therecesses beneath the plates, and a tubular bracket-arm extending zo fromthe block, substantially as specified.

2. The combination of a base having the recesses c a7, notchedcontact-plates secured to the base over the recesses a7, a recessedblock having a central opening, resilient contacts -on said blockconstructed to bear upon the contact-plates on the base, contact-platesb3 on said block, lugs extending from the block engaging with thecontacts on the base, the heads of said lugs extending into the recessesa7, a threaded socket in the block, and a tubular bracket-arm engagingin said socket, substantially as specified.

HORACE A. FITCH. Witnesses:

WM. F.`CAsWELL, WALTER CLIFFORD.

